Road Cycling - Does this really p*ss you off?

Riding this a.m. on a two lane, undivided roadway with a posted speed limit of 60 km/h. I glance down for a second - something in the rear hub catches my eye. As I'm lifting my head back up, a blur goes by me, in the opposite freaking direction!!!! Yep, an oncoming car has pulled into what I consider my lane to pass a slower vehicle. If I had drifted one foot to my left - BAM!

Do you feel, as I do, that cars should really treat you as an oncoming vehicle, or do they have the right to pass between you and the car in front of them?

"Here lies the grave of John O'Shea
Who died maintaiing his right of way,
His right was clear, his will was strong,
but he's just as dead as if he were wrong."

You may have had the right-of-way, but bicyclists whowant to live longer lives should go by the same operating principle as the Motorcycle Safety Foundation teaches: Act as if you were invisible to all other motor vehicle operators.

Originally posted by FOG
"Here lies the grave of John O'Shea
Who died maintaiing his right of way,
His right was clear, his will was strong,
but he's just as dead as if he were wrong."

You may have had the right-of-way, but bicyclists whowant to live longer lives should go by the same operating principle as the Motorcycle Safety Foundation teaches: Act as if you were invisible to all other motor vehicle operators.

FOG is right I say it is better to be polite than right sometimes. But to answer your question yes they need to treat us as vehicles and they need to pass us or teat us as though they would another car, that is if they don't do something like that when there is another car.

Pity a good cop wasn't watching, they probably would have got pulled over for a little lecture.

Same thing happened to me on a ride last week. Was I p'd off...yeah! Did I flip him the bird...yeah! Did I let it ruin my ride...nah! :D

You're right though, what they did was illegal and stupid...but somehow I'm just not surprised.

This happens to me at least once every season.
Yes it does piss me off.

I have thought of throwing a full water bottle at his/her windshield("officer, I was so frightened it must have slipped out of my hand"), but I'm usually too busy trying to save my butt.

You in Texas by any chance Carl?

I find that drivers give me the same amount of room that I give myself. If I creep close to the edge, they pass me by a whisker. If I assert my right of way and take a wide position, I get passed with more clerarance.
All I can say is that my daily experience is not the same as John O Shea.

Yes, this is unfortunate. I have similar experiences almost every day. Today I was riding in the middle of the lane (same speed as traffic, since traffic was slow) and a car that was parked on the side of the road simply pulled out into the lane in front of me. I hit my brakes hard and drifted to the side to barely avoid it.

However, I believe that at least where I live (Oregon), the bad behavior that motorists exhibit toward cyclists is owed to the fact that the majority of cyclists are pure idiots. I ride in traffic every day, and the majority of cyclists I encounter act recklessly -- in slow traffic, where bikes should ride in the middle of the lane with cars, these people insist on riding between cars, or pass stopped cars along the curb so they can get ahead at the light, cross intersections on red by just looking left/right and going, or cross intersections on red by turning and crossing the intersection on the crosswalk (on red) -- probably thinking that if they get caught they can only get charged with jaywalking, because cops are idiots or something. Not to mention the people who ride against traffic on the side of the street where there isn't even a bike lane.

Too bad that these bad seeds (and there are MANY of them) contribute heavily to the lack of respect between drivers and cyclists. But if I was a driver (I am not) and saw this kind of crap every day, I'd probably start thinking that since these apparent super-humans defy all road rules and seem confident doing it, then they can defy the dangers inherent in cars passing them close-by, pulling in front of them, turning in front of them, etc...

So I'm pissed off that drivers do stupid stuff like this, but I'm more pissed off that I feel like I can't demand respect on the road due to my fellow cyclists' recklessness.

life is just too fast moving, everyone is way too stressed and auto drivers have very little patience. It seems like everyone is always late, I think all drivers should be required to spend a month on a bike before given a drivers licence, Things would be different, they should also be required to do it 1 week a year so they don't foret. But, getting upset on our part is not the answer, you will never come out on top in a road rage confrontation when you're on a bike. Don't worry, if the police or an accident dosen't get them, stress and pour health will, in the end you will win because you ride a bike.

In Quebec, the highway Safety Code grands a cyclist all rights of a car on a road with a couple exceptions. A car does not need to completely exit the lane to pass a cyclist and a car may cross a solid line to pass a cyclist. Cyslicsts are classified in the same category of road vehicules as tractors and other slow movers.

I had the exact same scenario happen to me about a month ago - except it was raining. I thought I was going to be invoved in a head-on with a auto that was zipping @ 60mph+.

I don't think that the driver saw me, but I could be wrong. :mad:

Well, you are lucky. I have read that oncoming cars passing other cars are very dangerous to cyclists. In my own experience, I have found that passing motorists tend to be very aggressive to cyclists. They seem to think that if they are passing someone, they have the right of way over a cyclist. If I see them, I will move a little to the left (to give them the idea that I won't give them the whole road) but I am ready to make a move to the right and right now too if I have to. A friend of mine reported good results with wobbling (that is weaving back and forth a bit).

The thing that is unnerving about this, is a car can just seem to pop out of nowhere and be coming right at you at a closing speed of about 90 miles per hour.

It happened once to me. A bit strange, to say the least.

I think, however, it's mostly a problem with poor visibility, not being where the car driver looks, split-second decisions, etc.

Car drivers who pass typically look as far ahead as they can to see if the opposing lane is empty. Under less than ideal conditions, it takes one or two seconds to see whether the lane is filled by an oncoming car, judge its speed, etc. ... and decide to pass.

In that process, the cyclist:
- is much closer and to the left (of the uncoming driver) of the uncoming driver, so he is not near the focus point;
- might also be shaded by trees, etc.

Those two reasons alone explain a good part of the problem. Besides, on very busy 2-lane highways, passing options are rare, so it's tempting to bulley cyclists. On highway 17 in Northern Ontario, even cement trucks are have to do panic stops sometimes!

BTW, that same highway is less a problem nowadays, as many passing lanes have been added, so people are more cautious when passing.


Off Topic: if you feel bad (and rightly so) about cars coming right at you, think how those "wrong-way-cyclists" feel all the time. No wonder some consider cycling as a dangerous activity.

Regards,

Originally posted by FOG
"Here lies the grave of John O'Shea
Who died maintaiing his right of way,
His right was clear, his will was strong,
but he's just as dead as if he were wrong."

You may have had the right-of-way, but bicyclists whowant to live longer lives should go by the same operating principle as the Motorcycle Safety Foundation teaches: Act as if you were invisible to all other motor vehicle operators.

Yes, this pisses me off. It also scares the bejabbers out of me. It is dangerous and illegal.

I think FOG has the right idea here. We should act as if we are invisible to motorists, because, in fact, we are invisible to them. They don't expect to see us, and therefore, simply don't.

Whenever I see a car pull out to pass like that, I look for a place in the ditch where I can bail.

As for right of way...I was at a stop sign one day not long ago, waiting to cross the intersection. There was a car at the opposite side of the intersection as well. She had her left turn signal on. When traffic cleared, I started into the intersection. So did she. She nearly cut me off. As I rolled past her open window, I calmly said, "The vehicle going straight has the right of way at an intersection." From the look on her face, I think I frightened her.

Sometimes, the driver's CPU just doesn't process an unconventional vehicle at all. The eye sees you but the brain doesn't really process the message. The net result is that the driver literally looks right through you. It's not a concious act. And it is scary. It happens to motorcyclists a lot, too.

Of course sometimes the driver is just a b***hole.

This happens to me all the time. F(&*(* motorists! This particularly sucks when I am on a 2 lane highway and I have to ride on the road's edge just to keep from getting hit by the oncming a-hole. If there's nowhere to go..I sometimes stop and unclip right in front of the bastard. This usually makes him stop right in front of me...I just give him a mean look...without the bird.

If all cyclists would strap a bomb to their back that would explode if hit by a car I bet motorists would pay more attention.

Originally posted by FOG
"Here lies the grave of John O'Shea
Who died maintaiing his right of way,
His right was clear, his will was strong,
but he's just as dead as if he were wrong."

You may have had the right-of-way, but bicyclists whowant to live longer lives should go by the same operating principle as the Motorcycle Safety Foundation teaches: Act as if you were invisible to all other motor vehicle operators.

As a matter of fact, it is suggested to morocyclists to FULLY occupy one lane so that "some smart" people wouldnt' attempt to pass you with a clearence of few inches.

This doesn't apply to bicycle, though...

Originally posted by Inoplanetyanin
As a matter of fact, it is suggested to morocyclists to FULLY occupy one lane so that "some smart" people wouldnt' attempt to pass you with a clearence of few inches.

This doesn't apply to bicycle, though...

In the State of Washington it is recommended by the authorities that if using a multiple lane road that you take the center of the right hand lane so the cars supposedly will pass you legally, that is unless a bike lane is available.